Why Harshit Rana Replaced Shivam Dube in 4th T20I IND vs ENG?

In the fourth Twenty20 International against England, Harshit Rana became the first Indian to make his debut as a concussion substitute, taking Shivam Dube's place when he was hurt.

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By Emilia Blake
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Harshit Rana

Source: Hindustan Times

The first Indian cricketer to play his first international match in the T20I format as a substitution for a concussion was Harshit Rana, who made his debut under very peculiar circumstances. India's deployment of a concussion substitution sparked a lot of questions, which made the fourth Twenty20 International between India and England a contentious match.

Jamie Overton's bouncer hit Shivam Dube in the helmet on the fifth ball of the last over of India's innings. India came out to bowl, and Harshit Rana was designated as the all-rounder's concussion replacement, but he did not take the field. Rana replaced all-rounder Shivam Dube, who suffered a concussion, in the starting lineup for India's fourth Twenty20 International match against England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

Harshit Rana creates history:

For the uninitiated, a player who substitutes another should be a like-to-like replacement in accordance with the concussion substitute rules. Given that Dube is an all-round batting batsman, another player with the same role—ideally Ramndeep Singh—should have entered the game. It was questionable if Harshit was a like-for-like replacement, as required by regulation, but he undoubtedly made an impact on the game. India won the series by 15 runs as he took three wickets for 33 runs in his four overs.

Dube did not take the field to fulfill his assigned task, despite being India's second-half pace bowling option. As a result, the hosts substituted Harshit Rana for him, who served as India's backup pace bowling option when Dube was not available. On the penultimate delivery of the Indian innings, a bouncer from Jamie Overton struck the lanky left-hander on the helmet. He had already taken a few body blows early in his innings due to some hostile bowling from England fast bowler Jofra Archer.

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